Ruling on Praying in Shoes According to Aḥādīth
Source: Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amunpūrī
❖ Question
What is the ruling on praying while wearing shoes?
❖ Answer
If the shoes are clean and free from impurity, then praying in them is permissible. This is established by mutawātir aḥādīth and the consensus of the Ummah.
❖ Scholarly Statements
◈ ʿAllāmah Najī al-Ḥanafī (d. 686H):
((قد جاءت الأخبار متواترة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من صلاته فى نعليه))
“Mutawātir reports have come from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he prayed in his shoes.”
— al-Lubāb fī al-Jamʿ bayna al-Sunnah wa al-Kitāb 1/326
❖ Evidence from Aḥādīth
◈ Saʿīd ibn Yazīd al-Baṣrī said:
((سألت أنسا رضى الله عنه أكان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي فى نعليه؟ قال: نعم))
“I asked Anas (RA): Did the Prophet ﷺ pray in his shoes? He said: Yes.”
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 386, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 555
◈ Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (RA) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once led prayer wearing his shoes. The Companions prayed with their shoes on. Then, during the prayer, the Prophet ﷺ removed his shoes, so they also removed theirs. After prayer, he ﷺ asked: “Why did you remove your shoes?” They replied: “We saw you do so, so we followed.” He ﷺ said: “Jibrīl informed me there was some impurity on them. So when one of you comes to the mosque, he should look at his shoes; if he sees impurity, let him remove them, otherwise he may pray in them.”
— Musnad al-Ṭayālisī 286; Musnad Aḥmad 3/20; Sunan Abī Dāwūd 650; al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī 2/406
Authenticity: Declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Khuzaymah (1017), Ibn Ḥibbān (2185). Al-Ḥākim said it meets Muslim’s conditions, and al-Dhahabī agreed. Imām al-Nawawī also authenticated it.
❖ Consensus
◈ Imām al-Qurṭubī (d. 671H):
((لم يختلف العلماء فى جواز الصلاة فى النعل إذا كانت طاهرة من ذكي))
“The scholars have no disagreement that if shoes are confirmed to be clean, then praying in them is permissible.”
— Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī 11/174
Conclusion
- Praying in clean shoes is permissible and established from the Sunnah.
- It is not obligatory but allowed.
- If impurity is found on them, the shoes should be removed before continuing the prayer.
